


fireworks and fairy lights

by a_literal_mess



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Angst, Austin is just pure salt in this fic, Crying, Cuddles, F/M, First Date, First Kiss, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Hurt/Comfort, I mean he's just a flustered mess around Hana but, Ian and Mai are the ultimate Hana Protection Squad ™, Ian is the ultimate bro, Ians kinda aware of the fourth wall, Insecurity, Kissing, Luke is a Literal Cinnamon Roll™, Luke says "heck" a lot other than that this is very clean, My boy Luke is kinda ooc in this, PBG salt, Self-Esteem Issues, Shy!Luke, Soft Beans, awkward little teens, blanket burritos, hidden block hana, idk it's probably because of some televoidy shenanigans, insecure!luke, just honestly im such flowertown trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-07-06 19:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15892803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_literal_mess/pseuds/a_literal_mess
Summary: two important dates in the relationship of hana mizuno and luke sizemore.





	1. ramen

**Author's Note:**

> hoe my god i wasnt kidding when i said i was working on a flowertown thing
> 
> there is a sad lack of hana/luke here so i thought id do something about that ;)
> 
> anyway here you go
> 
> enjoy
> 
> or don't that's okay too

Hana watched as the wind shook the ornately grown oak trees outside the classroom and, unintentionally, blocked out Miss Shizuka’s weekly ramble about the newest one-off guy that broke her fragile, desperate heart. 

Just another boring, typical day in class.

Deciding that she had spent enough time gazing outside like a stereotypical and misunderstood anime character, Hana’s gaze turned to the other side of the room. To be specific, the side where her boyfriend sat. 

Luke was slumped in his seat, his hands fiddling with a pencil on his desk. He seemed as bored out of his mind as Hana was. He sighed, then craned his neck backwards. 

His pale, storm-colored eyes scanned the rows of tired students until they rested on Hana, clad in a Hidden Block jacket. Giving a soft smile, he mouthed something along the lines of ‘this sucks’. 

Hana did her best to stifle a chuckle and gently nodded. Seemingly satisfied, Luke grinned even wider and turned back to Shizuka, who was now angrily scratching history notes on the board with a quickly disintegrating piece of chalk. 

It felt like class would go on forever. With a shrug, Hana pulled her jacket closer towards her and reminisced on how Luke and her got together. 

 

Hana knew she really liked Luke even though it was only the beginning of the year. A whole lot. He had this undeniable charm and passion for what he did and had this sort of unconditional love for everyone. Anyone with eyes could also see how smoking hot he obviously was. And, by the time the Flower Festival rolled on by, she had mustered enough courage to ask out Asagao’s most iconic rapper. 

Obviously, Luke had to say yes, though it was only partially because of her main character influence and silly plot reasons. Luke honestly really liked her too! Hana was incredibly sweet, and put other’s needs before her own. Plus, she had, like, the most gorgeous and softest looking cotton candy colored hair in the entire academy. 

Back to Hana, she could remember the reaction of her best friend and roommate, Mai, when she confessed that she basically had a huge freaking crush on him. 

-

“I was thinking of asking... Luke?” Hana could feel heat rising to her cheeks as Mai’s jaw dropped lower than PBG’s grades. 

Mai quickly shook herself out of it and violently snapped her head back up. “Wait, whaaat?! Luke?!”

Hana thought she made it pretty clear, but okay. “Yeah, he’s really nice and... stuff?” Her shoulders bunched up as she thought about the feelings she kept inside to avoid inevitable teasing from Mai. 

Mai practically stomped up and down in excitement. “Are you kidding?! He’s, like, a literal cinnamon roll!” But, as suddenly as she started, she stopped. “It’s a little bit strange, though. You’ve never asked him out before. Is this some sort of DLC or whatever?”

“Ask him out..? Well, of course I haven’t- wait... DLC? What?”

Mai just smiled. “Forget about it. Well?”

“What?”

She beamed. “Go! Go on and get your man!”

“Wait, you mean now?”

Clapping Hana on the back, she screeched. “YEAH!”

Hana stumbled as pink blobs filled her vision. “Wha-?”

Of course, Mai was tossing cherry blossom petals over her head. “Go get senpai to notice you!”

Hana’s cheeks became as pink as the artificial flower scraps. “Mai...” How did she get as lucky as to end up with a best friend like her?

“You’re a main character! Unless you messed up real badly, you’re sure to get a good answer.”

“I’ve messed up a lot, though.”

Mai only scowled. “Just GO!”

And, with a final shove, she was out the door. 

 

Luke was found in his territory, of course, the recording studio. As Hana headed over to Azalea Art Center, anxiety flooded over her like a sudden spring shower. What if he didn’t like her? What if he said no? Or, worst of all, what if he already had a date? That would be so awkward, and he probably already did, seeing as he was the most suave and smooth musician-slash-prankster on campus. Maybe she should save herself from the embarrassment, just turn around and run back to the safety of her dorm. 

But, in spite of herself, Hana shook her head and pressed on with one good thought in her mind- what if he said yes?

Trembling like a leaf, Hana found herself in front of the room where Luke was presumably recording. It was the same room where PBG and Jon hosted PB&J, and over the door, cherry colored neon lights spelled out in bold the word ‘RECORDING’. 

With great hesitance Hana pushed open the door and slid inside. As expected, Luke was recording. No one else was in the room, (thank goodness), and Luke was...

Hana blushed. Behind panels of glass stood Luke in an expensive looking recording booth. He was... rapping. Really passionately, too. It was easy to see how much love Luke put into his music, he seemed to be loving every second of recording and put his heart and soul into what he created. 

Gosh, why did Luke have to make it so easy to admire him?!

Luke didn’t seem to notice Hana at all, and if he did, he did a great job of ignoring her. 

Taking a seat on a spinny desk chair, Hana watched as Luke rapped, (Or sang? It was hard to tell), the remainder of his verse. Seconds later, he threw off his headphones and practically danced out of the booth, heading to a widescreened computer outside of the booth. 

He still hadn’t noticed her. 

Hana must’ve done something that made her presence known, because Luke had just pretty much shrieked, jumped a good six feet in the air and whirled around, his classic SnapBack thrown askew.

Seeing that it was only Hana, and not some murderer that went exclusively after aspiring musicians, he immediately relaxed and fixed his cap. “Yo, Hana! You just get here? I didn’t notice you at all!”

Hana deadpanned. “Haha, yeah. Just got here a second ago. Totally.”

Luke was blissfully oblivious to Hana’s sarcasm as he closed what he was working on and politely took a seat across from her on a plush, navy sofa. “What brings you here on this fine, fine day? You wanna rap for me?” He winked. 

Somehow, Hana knew that deep down, that was a bad idea. “Er, no actually, sorry.” Luke made an exaggerated face akin to that of a kicked puppy. “I-I actually wanted to ask you something.” Hana avoided his gaze, instead blushing as she picked at the sleeve of her jacket. 

Luke leaned back nonchalantly, resting his arms along the back of the couch. “Shoot! I’m all ears!” With a silly grin, he pointed to both his ears. 

Hana gathered every single speck of courage she had in herself and ripped off the band aid. “Well, I was wondering... if you maybe wanted t-to go to the Flower Festival with me?”

Luke’s composed and cool nature was completely thrown out the window as he, slowly but very surely, became a flustered mess. “Wha-? You, uh, you want to go with m-me?” Luke was on the verge of passing out before he forced himself calm. 

Still extremely flushed, however, he spoke: “Heck yeah! I’ll totally go with you! It’ll be so much fun!” Luke had a Cheshire Cat-like grin and was now sitting as straight as a ruler. “Is it okay to meet here tomorrow at ‘bout eight-ish? I gotta finish some things up here tomorrow, and then I’m one-hundred percent free to do whatever!”

Hana nodded. “Of course! I’m excited!”

Moments of noticeable silence passed before Luke awkwardly cleared his throat. “Well, I will catch you on the flippedy flip, Hana. Hasta la later!”

“See you tomorrow!” And just like that, Hana was off again. 

She was going on a date. 

 

Fumbling awkwardly through the hall in her flowered yukata, Hana pushed open the door of the studio and found Luke right where he said he’d be, working on the same something from yesterday. Seeing that Hana was here, he closed his project and put all of his attention onto Hana. 

He wasn’t wearing his Hidden Block jacket anymore, but instead he was sporting a black sweatshirt, teal t-shirt, his favorite SnapBack, and a huge grin. Hana shuffled, immediately feeling self conscious and way over dressed. 

Seeing Hana’s growing distress, he jazzed his hands and hastily blurted out. “Hana!” Luke made his way across the room and pulled Hana into a tight hug. “You look really cute! Man, I feel way underdressed now.” He chuckled, probably as an attempt to calm Hana’s nerves. And it definitely worked. 

This startled her, but after getting over her initial shock she returned the hug, though a bit looser than Luke’s hug. Hugging Luke really put into perspective how tall he was, seeing as the top of Hana’s head barely reached his shoulder. 

He pulled away after a few seconds more, a light peach color dusting his face along with a genuine smile, he walked towards the door and held it open for her. “You ready to go?”

Hana smiled. “I’m ready if you are.” 

“Sweet! Let’s go, then.”

 

Festival lights lit up the night sky as Hana and Luke gaped at the dozens upon dozens of stands dicing up the streets into neat rows. 

The pair stopped near the supposed entrance of the fair in amazement. Stalls lined the sidewalks and were piled high with ornate gifts, beautiful flower arrangements, stuffed animals, origami figures, and much more. The smell of takoyaki and yakisoba wafted through the air, attacking their noses and their stomachs. Laughs of children accompanied the back drop of the slow and faint crackling of the bonfire that billowed clouds of smoke into the air, cluttering the sky to the point where the stars were near impossible to see. 

Luke turned to Hana and posed a question. “What do you want to see first? I’m down for anything, and we have the whole night ahead of us.” He smiled. That was unsurprising, though, because honestly, when was Luke not smiling?

Hana smiled back. “Anything sounds good to me! Did you want to do anything specific?”

Luke exaggeratedly stroked his chin like a scheming villain plotting his plans for world domination, earning a chuckle from Hana. He stopped, then finally spoke. “There’s a firework show every year that’s pretty dope, and this one stall’s got some hecking good ramen. You hungry?”

Hana’s stomach rumbled at the thought of new food. Asagao’s lunch menu rotated daily, with each day of the week having a different course, but there were only so many times you could endure the same turkey wraps over and over. “Ramen sounds really good right now.”

Luke lit up like the bonfire in the distance. “Sweet! Let’s go!” He excitedly started maneuvering through the crowds, then turned around and got back to where Hana stood. “Uh, yeah... there’s kind of a huge crowd and...” Luke sheepishly rubbed his neck, looking to the ground as he kicked a few pebbles until-

He held out his hand to her. “Take my hand. I won’t lose you!” He finally looked back to her, a blush on his face that colored his ears and the entirety of his face. 

Hana wasn’t faring much better, as millions of romanticized fantasies ran through her mind, but still hesitated to actually reach out and grab his shaking hand. 

She obliged. 

Shocked, Luke turned his head in an instant, trying to cover up the still growing blush and grin on his face. To his dismay, it didn’t work. Still, he guided Hana through the bustling herd of festival patrons until they reached the aforementioned ramen stall, lined with small tea tables and strung-up paper lanterns. 

The pair ordered their food, still holding hands, and were about to take a seat at the nearest empty tea table when they saw a familiar face behind them:

“PBG!” Luke exclaimed, looking down at a scowling PBG as he loomed a good two inches over his head. “How goes it, my man?” PBG was holding a red soda can in his hands, and it seemed like he was struggling to not turn it into dust in a fiery fit of salt induced rage. 

PBG looked from Hana, to Luke, and then to their hands. Repeatedly. With a hint of malice in his voice, he responded. “...Fine.”

Hana frowned. “Are you okay, PBG? You seem kind of... salty?” She followed his gaze to hers and Luke’s linked hands. Gasping, she released herself from his grip and blushed an indecent shade of red, turning away from both boys. 

Luke, realizing what Hana had done, jumped and bashfully shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and shifted, his face as red as Hana’s. 

PBG was still brackish, his eye twitching. Some time after, he spoke. “...Okay, well I’m going to go. See you guys later, I guess.” With one hand in his pocket, he stalked away in the direction of Asagao. The can in his other hand was now severely crushed, and it seemed like it was leaking out the side and leaving a trail of soda as he went. 

...

Luke coughed. “S-so, uh... how ‘bout this weather?” Hana had no way of knowing this, but Luke was mentally slamming his head into an imaginary table over and over. 

“Yeah, it’s... nice.” Hana chuckled weakly, her inner dialogue screaming at her to do something, anything! “D-do you want to sit down?”

Luke looked in the direction of where PBG went, then turned to Hana and smiled as if nothing had happened just then. “Yeah!”

Their conversations went on spirited and lively as they got their bowls of ramen and ate. Luke let Hana in on a few supposed ‘secrets’ about his fellow Hidden Block members, such as: “Did you know that Ian got the nickname Brutalmoose ‘cause, like, he legit beat up a moose one time? No joke! I saw it all happen!” 

Hana highly doubted that.

As the duo chatted, Hana noticed many things about Luke, like how he cared deeply for his friends, and how he talked very highly of them. You could tell when Luke was talking about something he loved because a literal twinkle would shine in his eyes when he truly was passionate about a topic.

And he talked.

A lot. 

Hana didn’t mind this, however, because when Luke spoke, she got these indescribable... feelings in her chest. Feelings like, whenever he was around, everything would be okay, no matter what they faced. And feelings like everything was finally how it was meant to be, as if it were prophesied in the stars millions of years ago, but was just now coming true. When they locked eyes, she felt lost at sea in the ocean blue depths of his irises.  
And, when her hand spent that short time holding his, it felt as though millions of fireworks were exploding in her heart all at once, exploding in her chest with sudden shades of vibrant pinks, glittering yellows, and sparkling blues. 

Hana was in love.


	2. fireworks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is chapter two!
> 
> high school has not started yet for me- some teachers are on strike or whatever right now- so ive been writing like crazy the past two weeks :)
> 
> anyway enjoy or don't that's okay too bye

“Hey, Hana,” At the sound of her name, Hana snapped out of her newest lovey-dovey fantasy and watched as Luke slurped up the rest of his ramen. After he finished, he continued his dialogue. “So I know you’re cool with the Boots and such, but like, if you wanted to, you could totally join Hidden Block instead!” Luke was beaming at her as Hana’s heart skipped a beat. 

...Joining Hidden Block? The thought had never even crossed her mind before, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome. All the Hidden Block guys seemed really quirky and fun to be around, not to mention the fact that Luke had just straight-up offered her a spot and didn’t have her jump through flaming hoops just to earn their friendship. 

Plus, she would get to spend more time to spend with her crush. 

Without a second’s delay, she eagerly nodded. “Yes! I would love that!” Luke shone like the sun. 

“Aw yeah, freaking amazing, Hana! I’ll run it by the guys, but I guarantee we will be seeing you in the squad very soon!” He cheered as he let his head rest on his hand and winked at her. 

After both of them stood up, Luke left a generous tip on the table and checked his watch. “Yo, the fireworks start in a few!” He glanced back up at Hana with stars in his eyes. “You gotta see these, Hana!” And, this time without any shyness or hesitation, he excitedly grabbed Hana’s right palm and pointed with his other hand in the direction of where the fireworks were probably located. “There’s this sweet hill that me and Ian went to last year,” Luke had already started walking, dragging Hana along with him. “When we went, it was like dead-empty. And maybe I also totally-not-on-purposefully dumped my water bottle on his head when he fell asleep- I swear, that kid could sleep through the end of the world, he’s insane.” Luke shrugged, an expression on his face that was contrary of what he had said about Ian before. He shrugged, put the hand that wasn’t occupied onto his chest, and continued in a dramatic tone. “But alas, he is my bro, and I must put up with my roommate’s shenanigans as best I possibly can.” 

Hana chuckled, and impressed herself as she maneuvered through the turbulent crowd with relative ease. She mentally blessed Luke and his God-sent gift of tallness and the crowd-parting skill that came with it. As they walked, Hana took the time to glance back upon what had happened on their date so far. It was going great! They both got to eat some great food, Hana was offered a spot in the Hidden Block club, and she got to spend some quality time with Luke! 

There was just one thing that was nagging at her in the back of her mind, however. The way PBG looked at her and Luke... what was up with that?

“Hey, Luke,” Luke craned his neck down to meet Hana’s gaze. “Did PBG look upset to you earlier? He seemed... kind of out of it to me.”

Luke raised his brows in surprise for barely a moment before he suddenly came to a stop. In the middle of the herd. Where people were trying to walk. 

A passing couple bumped into Luke a second later and that seemed to shake him out of whatever he was thinking at the moment. Luke mumbled a quick ‘sorry’ to them, and Hana noticed the downcast expression on his face as he was turned away from her. He looked... hurt. Not physically, but... Or was it confusion..? Conflict? 

Before Hana could finish her train of thought, Luke perked up and kept moving. “Ah, he was probably fiiine! That dude was definitely just hangry or something. He was in line for ramen, then just up and left.” He took note of Hana’s confused expression and tried to clarify. “Y’know, hangry? Like, hungry and angry, but in one snazzy little word.” He shook his free hand around as he explained, as if it would answer every question. 

It didn’t really make sense, but whatever worked for Luke. 

After another minute of weaving through clamoring patrons, Luke led Hana to a grassy clearing at the edge of the festival, similar to the location of the bonfire, where several other people had already set out blankets and were chatting amongst themselves. In the distance, Hana could barely see a concrete platform where official-looking people were setting up fireworks the size of tree trunks that were definitely illegal. Emphasis on barely, as the sky was pitch black now, small glittering stars dotting the horizon, and no light was brightening the area except for the flickering street lamps lining the sidewalks across the field. The pair sat down at a nearby wooden bench atop an empty hill, Luke humming happily to himself. 

Checking his watch once again, Luke bubbled with childlike happiness. “It should be starting any sec now- the fireworks, that is. Man, I’m so excited for you to see these!” And then, unintentionally, he gave Hana’s hand a squeeze, bringing up the fact that they were surprisingly still holding hands, even some ten minutes later. 

Luke noticed first, flushing a deep pink, and put a hand to his face, avoiding Hana’s eyes. 

He still held on though. 

Timidly, he turned to face Hana, her cheeks pinker than her own hair. 

“Y’know, Hana,” Luke was still avoiding her stare, his shoulders bunched up and his gaze awkwardly focused on something in the grass below them. “I, uh... I should probably tell you something.” 

Hana’s eyes widened. What was he..?

Luke finally looked up at her. He was flushed down to his neck at this point, and his cheeks pulled into a huge smile. “This night has been awesome, and you are awesome, and I love being around you. You make me feel like I can do anything, and that I don’t have to pretend to be someone else when I’m with you. And I don’t know how you feel, but....” His open hand had somehow found its way into her other hand, and he continued. “I guess what I’m tryin’ to say, Hana, is that I... I like you. Like, a lot.” He smiled at her, for what felt like the hundredth time that night. 

Her eyebrows raised, and to her surprise-

He brushed the pink bangs out of Hana’s face and planted a soft, angelic kiss to her forehead. As soon as his lips met her face, Luke pulled away, waiting for some kind of reaction. 

When he wasn’t met with one, his first instinct was sheer panic. 

“Oh, oh my God- you don’t- uh, I’m really s-sorry, I’ll just- I mean,” Luke’s cheeks were so red it was obscene, and his hands slipped out of her grip, his arms heavy, knees weak, and palms sweaty. “I’m sorry, I should-“

And, mere moments later, he got a reaction. 

Hana tackled him into a hug, nearly shoving him off the bench. “Me, too,” Hana’s response was more of a muffled squeal, as her face was buried in the fabric of his sweatshirt. 

Luke froze. He stared straight ahead, gears turning in his head as he tried to comprehend Hana’s words. 

Then it clicked. 

“Wait, really?” He returned the hug, resting his chin on top of her head. 

Pulling away from him, her hands still resting on his shoulders, she confirmed. “Yes, really, you dork.” Hana chuckled, her face still crimson. 

Luke threw his hands in the air. “What a shocking revelation! And here I was, thinkin’ my feelings were one-sided.” He shrugged once again. 

Hana hesitated for a split second before she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Scooting back, Hana laughed at Luke’s starstruck face. “Is that enough proof for you?”

Luke shook himself out of whatever was going through his head and laughed along. After he calmed down, he spoke up again. “Maybe,” Suddenly, he was spun in his seat, facing Hana. Timidly, he put a hand to Hana’s cheek, cupping it in his palm. “But this definitely is.”

He tilted a furiously blushing Hana’s chin up so his blue eyes met her turquoise ones. Luke shyly and slowly leaned in, anticipation filling the smoky air before the inevitable kiss happened. Unspoken love fluttered through their minds and the couple got closer, until-

All of a sudden, a huge boom shattered through the wind, terrifying both Luke and Hana before their lips met. Hana yelled in terror and fell off the bench, and Luke shuffled back in shock, his eyes as wide as pie tins. Shades of pink and red filled the night sky, and various ‘ooh’s and ‘ah’s of other festival goers wormed their way into the silence between them. 

Awkward horror sat between them for a moment. 

Then Hana started chuckling. 

Conveniently, her laughter was contagious as Luke began to break down into hysterics as well. He got up and helped Hana to her feet, pulling her hands into his grip. 

Luke slung his arm around Hana’s shoulders, and she stood there with him, watching the beautiful display before them in knowing silence. 

The fireworks continued for the next ten minutes, illuminating the twilight in bustling neon hues. In this time Hana had nestled her head into Luke’s shoulder, and his arm found its way comfortably wrapped around her waist. The display finished off with a bang (pun intended) with a huge rainbow colored firework that shot off millions of sparks into the sky. 

Cheers and applause rang from the both of them along with the several other dozens of smooching couples and families with children ranging from sugar-high to dead-tired. Luke moved himself to get a better view of Hana and posed a groundbreaking query. “I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I’ll ask anyway,” He shifted his head down, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He pulled away after an instant, a loving and open expression in his eyes. “Do you want to go out with me?”

“Of course!” Hana nodded, excitement blooming in her heart. “Why would I say no? There’s no guy I’d rather date, to tell the truth!”

Luke balked. “Really?” Shyly, he rubbed his shoulder, eyes drawn to the ground. “Shucks, Hana.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. 

“Oh my god, that was really stupid- no one says shucks anymore, great job Mr. Sizemore.” He jokingly smacked his forehead, then laced his fingers with Hana’s once more. “Let’s go back to Asagao, I’m too tired to actually function and use good English."

The new couple ambled back to campus, not in any hurry, and passed the time trading corny jokes and cheesy pickup lines. Hana was surprised to find that Luke had an entire arsenal of pickup lines, but was even more surprised that he hadn’t used one on her the entire night. She mentally shrugged. Luke was probably too shy to actually use them- Hana knew she would be, anyway.

When they got back to Asagao, Luke walked Hana to her dorm, like a true gentleman. He let go of Hana’s hand and once again stared bashfully at the wood paneling below them. It seemed like he wanted to say something. 

He shoved his hands into his jean pockets and finally spit it out. “Hana,” Luke’s voice was deep, as if he were trying to seduce Hana. If that was his intention, he was hilariously failing in Hana’s totally unbiased opinion. “Do you wanna... try kissing again?” His wording was awkward, and near the end his voice started to crack in banshee-like pitches. 

Hana would’ve blushed had she been in any other circumstance, but right now she was too tired and too infatuated to really think about words and silly stuff like emotions. So, like a rational person, she teased him. 

Hana stood on the very top of her toes, as Luke was basically a tree he was that tall, and smooched him on the cheek. “Maybe next year, Luke.”

He pulled away in surprise, his eyebrows raised, and Hana laughed at his mental predicament. Luke grinned and hugged her once more before he departed. “‘Night Hana, I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow? You can one hundred percent chill with us Hidden Block guys tomorrow, but I can’t promise that Jimmy won’t try to force you into wearing his Princess Pear dress like how he does with me.”

“Yeah! I’ll see you tomorrow!” 

He moved back after a few comfy seconds more, his face bright with happiness and pure positivity. “Sweet dreams, Hana.”

Hana waved Luke goodbye as she fished her room key out of her pocket and closed her dorm door. As Luke started to gather himself, his heart practically fluttering out of his chest, he stumbled when he heard Mai’s muffled fangirlish screams through the door. 

“OH MY GOD, HANA, HE’S GOT YOU FEELING LUKEWARM!”

“MAI!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah i couldn't help myself with the pun sorry
> 
> chap three is a wip run but im gonna try and have it finished and edited in a week or so oop 
> 
> thanks for reading :)


	3. the hana protection squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh my gosh darn sorry this took so long to write but i hope the long chapter will make up for it!
> 
> im thinking that this story might actually turn out to be five chapters instead of four, so cross your fingers ;)))
> 
> as always enjoy or don't because that's okay too

Hana’s reverie was rudely interrupted by a snap at the front of the room. Shizuka was now fuming at the front of the class, taking her anger out on an innocent and now broken piece of chalk. She was muttering something that sounded like a curse to ‘all no-good men in the world’.

The pink-haired protagonist shifted her view to the board, suddenly realizing that she had missed out on what looked like several pages of notes on some random country she had no interest in. Hana yelped and scrambled to scribble down what she could before they were released for lunch.

To her immense dismay, however, a chiming bell rang campus-wide moments later, granting her fellow classmates their long-awaited freedom from the shackles of education.

Practically springing out of his seat, (and nearly tripping in the process), Luke scooted past a glaring PBG and wove his way to Hana’s desk.

She noticed her boyfriend approaching her desk, giving him a small wave and a quick ‘hey’, but still continued to frantically chicken scratch as many major bullet points as she could in the meantime.

Luke leaned down to Hana’s current level, trying to get a peek of what she was so overwhelmed with. Unfortunately, being tall can have its downsides when it comes to trying to see things below you... but, of course, there is always the upside of being able to hold something above another person’s reach.

Which is exactly what Luke ended up doing.

Snatching the nearly pristine notebook from Hana’s grasp, (Hana was great at keeping things neat), he held it with one hand at his eye level while he used the other to try and stop his girlfriend’s desperate and toddler-like ‘grabby hands’.

“Hey! Give it back, I need to finish the last page!” Her exasperated pleas were only met with a suppressed snicker and a sly smirk from Luke.

“Wow, Hana, I’ve never seen you not finish notes before,” He started flipping through the pages, looking back at the virtually useless notes from several days ago.

She stood up and kicked him in the shin, which only made him laugh more. “Yes, and I don’t plan to start doing that anytime soon, Luke!”

“Eh, there’s a first time for everything, Ha-“ Stopping suddenly on an empty page, Luke’s melting heart did flips in his chest. “Aaaaaw, is that supposed to be you and me?” He flipped the book around to face Hana. On the page was a sketch of a tall boy in a black hat and a girl with a bow holding hands on a park bench.

If Hana wasn’t stressed before, she definitely was now. “Oh my God, you weren’t supposed to see that!” Luke giggled like a schoolgirl, finally handing Hana back her closed notebook. She shoved it into her bag immediately, not daring to risk having a tragedy like that happen again anytime soon.

“C’mon, Hana, we’ve been dating for like, what, a week and a half now? It’s totally fine,” He slung his bag along with hers onto his shoulders. “And, like, we always hold hands, so it’s not like it’s anything new or embarrassing.”

Hana groaned, standing up from her desk. “Yeah, but you weren’t supposed to see the actual drawing of it!”

Luke just chuckled, taking her hand in his. “If it makes you feel any better, you can copy my notes later, let’s just get to lunch.”

Hana internally sighed. Luke’s handwriting was... bad.

...Actually, no, that was giving him way too much credit. His handwriting was downright abysmal, half of the time Hana couldn’t tell his ‘e’s and ‘o’s apart, let alone read a full sentence of his without having Luke read it aloud himself. It was kind of impressive in a way, how he could decipher those chicken scratches that looked like they were shoved into a blender, set to purée, and served at a two-star Denny’s in the poor American suburbs.

And even still, that was way too much credit.

As they walked to the cafeteria, bumping into a typically grumpy Ian trying to ward off his self proclaimed ‘nemesis’, Caddy, who was currently trying to shove him into a wall, Hana reflected on the past ten days.

When Hana joined Hidden Block, a mere day and a half after she got together with Luke, it was sort of strange.

The world hadn’t shifted on its axis, there was no horrible reaction from Normal Boots, and it wasn’t like the balance of the universe was suddenly thrown off.

But it wasn’t like things were completely... the same after word got around that Hana and Luke were an item and that she was joining Hidden Block. Yeah, she sat at another table and wore a different jacket, big deal. But it wasn’t like it should’ve been treated like such a life changing thing!

The Boots were still friendly with her, or at least most of them were. Shane was still a grump, but it did seem like he was more relaxed around her than before in an odd sort of way, like a huge weight that was dragging him down was suddenly plucked off of his shoulders.

And then there was PBG. It wasn’t like Hana was particularly close to him prior the Flower Festival, but they weren’t complete strangers either. But now, it felt like he did everything in his power to avoid Hana, especially when Luke was around.

There was also the glaring... seriously, what was up with that?! It was like the only two expressions he had when he looked at Hana were intense death glares or confused frowns. It wasn’t like she killed anyone or anything, the only things she did were date a guy and join a different club. Maybe he thought that Hana was fraternizing with the ‘enemy’ or something, but even then it wasn’t something to get so riled up about.

Whatever, it wasn’t like it mattered or anything, because no matter what happened, she still had Luke.

Tall, sweet, adorable Luke Sizemore. Hana was honestly blessed to have him as her boyfriend. Luke was so undeniably pure and kind, always going out of his way to make sure she was feeling okay or cheer her up if things went wrong. Luke was also just so freaking charismatic and had such a way with words, whether he was trying to, ahem, ‘flirt’ with her or if he was even just writing lyrics. Speaking of music, he was so talented and passionate! Hana’s seen him rap several times, of course, but sadly she hasn’t been fortunate enough to have been graced with the presence of a singing Luke. However, Hana knows in her sixteen year-old heart that it will have been worth every second of waiting when she finally was. Looking up to her boyfriend as they walked down the concrete pavement, she inaudibly exhaled a dreamy sigh and basked in his beauty. Luke was truly gorgeous, inside and out.

Like a gentleman, he held the white cafeteria door open for Hana, the still bickering forms of Caddy and Ian tailing dangerously close behind them, and the duo was surprised to see that the lunchroom was nearly empty except for a few scattered students that included PBG and Jared at the Normal Boots table and, only two tables away, a suspiciously giddy Jimmy at the regular Hidden Block table.

They figured out why very soon.

After they grabbed lunch, Hana and Luke shuffled through the now busy cafeteria and back to their table near the back of the room. Jimmy was still obviously trying to contain his ecstatic emotions. It was like if he didn’t, he could implode at any moment. What was he waiting for?

“What’s got you all smiley, Jom?” Luke questioned, taking a seat across from him. Hana followed suit and sat next to the tall rapper, taking back her bag and fishing out her water bottle. And suddenly, as if it were magic, the rest of Hidden Block and an uncomfortable looking Mai materialized out of thin air and sat around the table.

Of course, Mai was immediately offered a seat at their table seeing as she was Hana’s best friend, but Mai still preferred the ‘serenity’ of the Normal Boots table over the pure chaos that was Hidden Block. She would constantly hop between the two, wanting to support Hana but also wanting to retreat to the safety of the normalcy of the teal-clad boys. Luckily for Hana, today was one of her supportive days.

Jimmy rested his chin in his palm, his elbow sat upon his blue bag on the table. When he did, it made an odd metallic crunching noise. Weird.

“As you all obviously know, today is Friday, which means that today’s lunch is nasty-ass pizza.” He dramatically wrinkled his nose in disgust, being the huge drama queen he was. “Buuut, that’s not necessarily what I’m gonna hafta eat.”

In a flash, Jimmy snapped his bag into his hands, unzipped it, and dumped the contents out for the world to see. Dozens of foil-wrapped items tumbled onto the lunch table, and Jimmy triumphantly blared finger guns into the air.

“Wabam! Burritos!”

A burrito came rolling towards Jeff, and he tentatively picked it up, eyeing the snack as if his eyes deceived him. “How did you fit all of them in that bag?”

From across the table, Wallid fixed his glasses, trying to get a better look. “More importantly, how did you get so many burritos? There has to be at least thirty right here.”

Jimmy only shrugged. “A young burrito-enthusiast must never reveal his secrets.”

“Seriously, man,” Jeff laid a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. Seeing as he was the group dad, of course he had to be concerned about his youngest son. “This isn’t okay, it’s an addiction. We can get you help, burrito rehab isn’t scary.”

Jimmy’s lip trembled for a moment before he leaned in to hug Jeff, fake crying into his shoulder. “T-thanks, Dad.” Jimmy wheezed after pulling back and wiping a tear from his eye.

At Hana’s left, Mai shifted uncomfortably. She really didn’t want to be here. Mai unsubtly spun in her chair, looking to the Normal Boots table.

All of her sudden her demeanor changed, and a toxic glare abruptly replaced her previous discomfort. Hana noticed this, and quietly turned to look as well.

Mai was looking at the Normal Boots guys- no, just one guy in particular it seemed.

And guess who was shooting salty glares in Hana and Luke’s direction?

Yep, PBG.

He was whispering something into Jared’s ear, and then glanced back to the couple.

Hana whipped back around and stared at her fork. As she did, someone grabbed her hand.

Her eyes snapped to the right. Luke must’ve been looking back at him, too, because he was now scooted closer to Hana’s side, gently stroking her palm with his thumb. He was staring into his lunch as if it would disappear the second he took his eye off it.

There was that conflicted Luke look again. This wasn’t the first time this whole scenario had happened, it was almost a daily thing now, but usually PBG would stop staring after Ian shook his head and scowled or if Mai even just barely glanced in his direction with the ferocity of a thousand angry bees.

Apparently this time, that wasn’t enough.

PBG was still muttering to Shane as Ian took one look at the pair sitting next to him. How could Ian just sit back and watch two of his closest friends feel bad for being in love? He made eye contact with Mai.

It was like telepathy, the both of them simultaneously nodding, and they knew what they had to do.

This had to stop now.

Mai immediately jolted up, Ian doing the same. All eyes turned to them in the cafeteria as she stomped to the center of the cluster of tables.

You would’ve thought that PBG had just seen a ghost.

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but you better figure yourself out real fucking quick!” Mai yanked on the hem of his jacket, bringing him to her eye level.

Ian leaned on an empty chair close by, his arms crossed and face stern. “I’m not just going to sit back and let you make my friends guilty for being happy with each other.” He brushed his once neat hair, now frizzed with rage, out of his eyes. “Seriously, man, get over yourself.”

The red head’s eyes were fire lit. Releasing him, PBG fell back in his chair, and she continued. “Yeah, what he said! You’ve had your turn, let someone else be happy for a change!”

Every single student in the room sat in an awkward quiet, their heads turned to the cacophony going on. It wasn’t every day you saw a volley ball player and a gay moose call one of the most popular guys in school out for his bullshit saltiness.

“I swear to God, so help me, if you ever make Hana upset again-“ Mai stepped back a few, violently pointing a finger in PBG’s petrified face. “You. Are. Dead.”

Without another word, Mai and Ian swept away back to the Hidden Block table.

As they did, whispers filled the room, but they abruptly came to a stop when Mai cast a widespread growl through the room.

Luke and Hana stared at each other with wide eyes. How were they supposed to react to that?! Just go back to normal, as if nothing happened?!

They didn’t have to in the end, because in that moment the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the end of the day.

People sprang up, leaving chairs askew and few tucked under tables. It seemed like everyone there wanted to escape the tension, not just Hana and Luke.

Luke cleared his throat. “That was, uh, weird, but-“ Suddenly, his watch beeped, and his eyes frantically widened. “Oh, man, I totally forgot- hey, I’ll see you later, babe,” He kissed the top of her head, making Hana blush. “Also,” Luke pulled a red, crumpled composition book out of his bag. “Here’s my notes! Don’t think I forgot about you.”

Hana hesitated as she took the notebook from his hands. “Thanks, I’ll... try to copy them.”

Luke didn’t seem to hear her as he zipped up his bag with a sly grin. “I gotta work on some junk with Nate tonight, but I’ll hit you up later!”

He stood up and stuck out his tongue. “Bye, Cotton Candy Queeeen!”

Hana groaned and stuck out her tongue back at him. “I hate it when you call me that!” Luke laughed and fussed her hair.

“Exactly! It’s my duty to annoy the heck out of you!”

She only grumbled, but a small and mischievous smile quickly replaced her frown. “Okay, well, bye to you, too, Stringbeaaan!”

Luke began to speed-walk away but stopped in his tracks as he processed what she said. Sighing, he turned around, unamused. “Don’t you even think about it.” He held up two fingers to his eyes and waved them back to Hana, backing away slowly.

Finally, he ended his shenanigans with a smile and waved one last time, heading in the direction of the Azalea Art Center.

Hana watched him go for a few more seconds, then she turned to face Mai.

Mai was smirking, her eyebrows wiggling at a blinding speed.

“He said that he’ll ‘hit you up later’,” She cooed. “Wonder what’s gonna happen with that, huh?”

Hana involuntarily blushed, shoving Mai’s arm roughly. “Mai, I’m sure he doesn’t mean anything s-sexual!”

Mai still smirked, her eyes narrowed. “Who said anything about it being sexual, Hana? I’m just pointing out the facts, that’s all.” She stood up, dusting off her skirt. “Whew, gotta go rest my voice, that was some loud threatening earlier.”

“Yeah, what was up with that? PBG wasn’t hurting us or anything.”

Mai scowled once more. “Honestly, Hana, you and Luke are too nice to people!” She started to stomp away, Hana trailing behind. “That salty asshole was making you both miserable, and what was I going to do, watch you two suffer?”

She threw her hands up. “Hell no!”

“Yeah, but-“

Mai shushed Hana, putting a finger to her lips. “No buts, girl! If you want someone to stop doing something, you gotta be more, y’know, abrasive.”

She huffed and continued to walk, her arms limp at her sides. “Ugh, I have a terrible headache. Let’s go back to the dorm, we’ve gotta finish season seven of Boltron, anyway.”

Hana gasped. “You’re right! Hey, do you think Rotol is actually dead?”

Mai balked. “Uh, definitely not! I mean, Boltron just left him in the wintessence plane, and they didn’t actually show him, like, dying and screaming in agony.”

She exhaled, a smile on her face. “The real question is if Pike and Keef will actually get together in the end, let’s be honest. I need conformation on my fan theories!”

Hana giggled at her fangirl of a best friend. As long as she had Mai and Luke by her side, everything would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha gosh the playful banter between them is so fun to write
> 
> im thinking chapter four might come out in 1-2 weeks but ill try to have it done asap
> 
> thanks for reading :)


	4. the bros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all 
> 
> so like this chapter was way longer than what i was expecting and i still have more planned for this story so expect another chapter pretty soon! :D
> 
> this chap is from ian/lukes perspective cause you know i love these bros
> 
> anyway this is going on too long so like enjoy or don't because that's okay too bye

“Ian, everything is definitely not fine, why the heck did you do that?!” Luke slammed open his dorm door, his eyes wide and brows furrowed. 

Ian was as indifferent as ever, lounging back in his desk chair and playing a game on his phone. He huffed out a dry chuckle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”

Luke groaned, flopping onto his unmade bed on the right side of the room. “Dude, don’t play dumb, the whole mess at lunch? Like, you yelling at PBG? Making a huge scene?!”

Ian barely glanced at Luke, but he could tell that he was clearly devastated. It was such a sad sight that Ian almost felt guilty. 

Almost. This was ridiculous. 

Ian shrugged. “Look, I was just trying to stick up for Hana and you. That asshat was making you uncomfortable, and I did something about it.”

Luke turned on his side, facing away from Ian. He pulled out his phone from his jean pocket, checked it, and groaned once more, burying his face into his pillow. 

The moose sighed, sat himself up and turned to face the sad lump of teenage angst. “What now, you drama queen?” 

Luke might’ve responded to that, but it was impossible to tell what he said with the pillow smothering his face. 

“You’re being more of a sad sack than usual, tell me what’s up.” 

Luke rolled onto his back, splayed out on his bed like a starfish. 

“PBG likes Hana.”

Ian let out a surprised chuff. This whole situation was getting even more ridiculous by the second. “Well, okay, that’s a start.”

Luke abruptly sprang up, now sat with his arms propping him up behind him. “Dude, it’s so obvious! No one could just be that angry without actually having a reason for it!” His eyebrows knit together, as if he was actually distressed by what he was about to say next. “And, like, he’s always glaring at me, and when he thinks I’m not looking, he’s always staring at Hana with this stupid puppy dog face!” Luke hugged his knees to his chest. He must’ve been thinking about this a lot. “Ian.”

“Yeah?”

“What if...” Luke paused. Ian was fully facing Luke now, his chair had somehow turned one hundred and eighty degrees in the time that Luke got back to the dorm and between the current Hana-based predicament. Ian gave him a slow and reassuring nod as Luke drew in a large breath, gathering courage. 

“What if she leaves me for him?”

Ian opened his mouth to argue, but Luke beat him to the punch. “I mean, like, what if he tells her he likes her? Would she dump me? Well, duh, of course she would, it’s freaking PBG, but do I even stand a chance? He’s him, and...” Luke looked more vulnerable and broken than Ian had ever seen him before. “And what am I?”

This situation was no longer ridiculous. 

Ian got up, then took a seat on the far edge of his roommate’s bed. Not too close for comfort, but not too far to be insensitive. “You’re way over thinking this, Luke,” Ian let himself relax, trying to be at least somewhat comforting. “Hana loves you.”

Luke uncharacteristically scoffed. “Why should she? I’m not worth loving.” 

Ian balked. “Well, that’s news to me, Mr. Smooth.” Was he being serious? Luke Sizemore, the king of suave and pranks, feeling insecure and self deprecative? “What makes you think that?” 

Luke nearly shit his pants. ‘What makes you think that’? How the heck was he supposed to respond to that?! How was he supposed to tell Ian, his closest friend and long time companion, that he thought this way because he feels worthless? How could he say to him that he feels like nothing he does will ever amount to anything? How could he say that he secretly feels like everyone is a liar, that every single compliment or nice gesture he received was just an illusion? That it was done out of pity, not gratitude? How could he tell him that he thinks this way because he knows that he was only annoying, obnoxious, and useless?

How could he tell Ian that he thinks that Hana deserves someone more, not this sad excuse of a boyfriend? 

Hana was spectacular; kindhearted, thoughtful, sweet, and absolutely breathtaking. And what was Luke? He wasn’t smart like Satch. He wasn’t as pure as Jirard. He wasn’t funny like Jeff. He wasn’t athletic like PBG. He wasn’t even worth knowing, he was just this empty husk of a person. A waste of space. Sure, he rapped, but was there anything else worth noting? 

Why did she love him?

And why didn’t she love anyone else?

“You there?” Luke must’ve been staring to the side or something for a short while, because Ian slid into his view in that moment. 

Luke shifted away again, his shoulders bunched to a comfortable degree. “I don’t know, man, I just have a hunch.”

“Well, okay, you just have a hunch. Sure.” 

Luke glanced back at Ian, not at all happy with his signature sarcasm. 

Ian sighed once more, crossing his legs. “So what are you going to do about this ‘hunch’ of yours?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, obviously you’re going to have to take action if you want this ‘hunch’ to go away.”

“Okay,” Luke straightened himself out, moving to the edge of the bed alongside Ian. “How do I prove to Hana that I love her?”

“I’m telling you, man, you don’t need to prove her anything.” Luke gaped like a beached whale. “Okay, okay, geez- don’t get all emotional on me again!” Ian stood, moving back to his desk. “Just invite her over tomorrow or something.”

Luke blinked for a moment, metaphorical cogs spinning in his head. All of a sudden, he got to his feet and rushed to Ian’s side, positively beaming. “That’s it! Man, I owe you one, you’re a genius! Now where did I put...” The tall ball of excited energy spun around, now on the search for his phone that had precariously had been lost from his sight. 

“Okay, and I’m a genius because...?” Ian twisted his chair around. Luke was laying flat on his stomach, scouting under his bed, shoving several identical black snapbacks from out under it. 

Luke chuckled from beneath his bed. “I’m gonna invite her over tomorrow right now! Then I can show her some Yungtown love!” 

“Kinky.”

Ian eyed Luke, who jerked at his single word, thumping his head on the boards above him. Letting out a soft ‘darn’, Luke shot out from his spot, his face cherry red. His hat was covered in dust and it seemed like if he was embarrassed any more, his eyes would be wider than his face could physically handle. “Dude, what the heck?! N-no, that’s not what I meant, I-I mean, we haven’t even actually kissed yet-“

Ian interrupted his flustered ramble with a scoff. “Wait, what? You two haven’t kissed yet?” Luke innocently shook his head. “Dammit, Luke, now I’ve lost five dollars to James thanks to you, I was sure you two were at third base by now.”

Welp, there went the physical boundaries of Luke’s facial expressions. 

“Okay, okay, I was just joking.” Luke peeked from behind his hands, which were previously shielding his flushed cheeks from further exposure. “But seriously, you two haven’t kissed?” 

He leaned back and sighed. “I know, right, it’s so weird!” He flailed his arms around to dramatize the mundane situation. “It’s, like, every time I try to kiss her, some crazy crap just has to happen to stop us.”

“That is weird. Give me one example.”

“Yo, remember last week when Jeff brought his hamster launcher to lunch to test it out? Well, I tried to kiss Hana then, but then Jeff shot a chicken nugget into my eye and then I had to go to the nurse.”

Ian shrugged. “The author’s probably waiting for some angsty moment for you to swoop in like the perfect Prince Charming and save her with a heartfelt and heaven-sent sexy smooch, I bet.”

“...What?”

Ian just shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Also,” Ian bent over from his seat, grabbing a black-cased uPhone from the carpet below him. “You might be missing this.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Luke sheepishly smiled and took his phone from Ian’s grip. He sat on the floor, legs crossed, and immediately started typing. A small ‘ding’ signaled the send, and Luke blinked at his phone for a few seconds. 

Then he chucked it across the carpet. 

Luke fell back, startled, on the verge of tears and about ready to have an emotional breakdown at any moment. “OH MY GOD WHY DID I SEND THAT.”

Ian sat there, his eyebrow raised. “What did you do this time?” He asked, picking up Luke’s unharmed phone by his chair leg. 

Ian read his text and about broke down with him. 

[Stringbean] 7:16 - hey girlie, was just thinkin bout u ;) u wanna come over tmrw and chill out in my dorm w me? <3

He deadpanned, much more indifferent than usual. And that was saying something. “Oh my God, Mr. Smooth is right, this is the best you could come up with?”

Mr. Smooth flopped onto his stomach, groaning into the gray rug. “Cut me some slack, man, I was under a lot of pressure.” 

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.”

Another ding. 

At the sudden sound, Luke shot up like a firework and wormed his way to Ian’s desk. 

“Gimme that, what’d she say?” Rolling his eyes, Ian begrudgingly handed Luke back his phone. 

[Cotton Candy Queen] 7:19 - Sure! :) What time?

Luke grinned like an idiot and started to type. 

[Stringbean] 7:20 - how does 5 sound?

[Stringbean] 7:20 - i mean pm not am ofc lol

[Cotton Candy Queen] 7:20 - Perfect, I’ll see you then tomorrow! :D

[Stringbean] 7:21 - :D <3 <3 <3 

[Cotton Candy Queen] 7:21 - <3

Ian cleared his throat, and Luke instinctively craned his neck back to see the source of the noise. 

“You’re grinning like an idiot again. Let me guess, she’s coming over tomorrow?”

Luke upturned his eyebrows and nodded. “Yeah. She’s so dope.” Lovesick, he turned his neck back around, staring at his previous love strewn texts with his beautiful and dope girlfriend. A dope girl like her deserves only the dopest and the best. 

...The best. 

. . .

Luke yelped and jumped to his feet, tripping to Ian’s desk. He slammed his hands on the table, obviously conflicted once again. “Ian, we need to make this date special! It’s gotta be the best night ever, help me out, bud!” 

Ian made eye contact with the taller boy, his attention so direct and streamlined that he could see tiny flecks of green and gray scattered throughout his sea colored  
irises. He inhaled deeply, breathing in as much oxygen as a moose could handle, as his plan for perfection required his full dedication and willpower. With a slow exhale, he revealed his ground breaking master plan for the flawless date-slash-conformation-of-true-love. 

“Easy. You fuck her.”

“W iLl YOu ST Op tHAt?!”

Ian closed his eyes, shaking his head and chuckling all the while. “Alright, I’m sorry,  
I’ll stop. I do have an actual idea, though.” He pulled out his phone and opened up Mumblr. Ian scrolled and clicked for a few seconds before stopping on a particular blog. 

It was an aesthetic blog. 

Ian handed an awestruck Luke his phone with a specific post displayed on the screen. Luke scrolled through the pictures and handed Ian back his phone after a minute of staring. After handing it back, Luke stared down to his socked feet, his mouth ajar and expression blank with shocked brilliance. 

“...dude. That’s perfect!” Luke exclaimed, jogging to the door and dragging a hesitant Ian along with him. 

“Woah, wait- where are we going? It was just a-“

“No no no, you think I’ll settle for something as simple as that?” Luke kicked Ian’s shoes to him as he slipped on his own beat-up sneakers. He shoved his wallet into his Hidden Block jacket and flung the dorm door open. “Nah, bro, we’re going shopping!”


	5. suspicious shit is goin' down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes hello i am very sorry for the long update wait. school has been keeping me very occupied, but i promise you that chapter six will be out by the end of the month. 
> 
> anyway, im very excited to finish up this story and this is hopefully the last time i say this but there's most likely going to be only one more chapter.
> 
> i hope you like this one in the mean time :)

Soft gray clouds pooled together through the window, adorned with dewy drops of afternoon drizzle. Hana traced small circles along the sleeve of her black and yellow varsity jacket, preoccupied with listening to one of her boyfriend’s hand picked chill playlists, headphones placed onto both ears. 

She sighed, trying to pass the time in any way she could. Hana was alone in her dorm room, as Mai was out busy doing some ‘important main character support duties’, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. All Hana knew was that Mai had gotten a text from Ian earlier and that he needed her to go out and do something urgently. 

Hana sighed again. There was only half an hour until five- she could wait. It wasn’t like she could just drop by earlier, either, they already agreed on a time. Wouldn’t it be weird if she just came a bit early? 

. . .

...Luke wouldn’t mind would he? 

Of course he wouldn’t, they were boyfriend and girlfriend, for crying out loud! 

Hana’s pinked hair bobbed up and down as she stood up to grab her shoes and made her way to the door. She reached for the handle, her black slip-ons already on her feet, when all of a sudden-

Mai flung open the door, her head turned to face down the hall as she exasperatedly yelled at someone. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, Ian!” She faced Hana now, her eyes closed and face scrunched in annoyance. “Hana’s not gonna- AAH!” Mai’s eyes widened dramatically as she made eye contact with her roommate. She was holding a neat, white box, about the size of two boring history text books laid side by side. 

“Oh, heyyy, Hanaaaa!” Mai dragged out her words, currently trying to position the ribboned box behind her back as if she were trying to hide it. If that was the case, she was failing miserably. “What’re you doing here?”

Okay, this wasn’t suspicious at all. “...Mai, this is our dorm room.”

Mai nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact. “Oh, yeah it is!” She chuckled nervously, worming past Hana with the box close to her back. “Hey, uh, don’t you have somewhere to be right about now?”

“No, not for another thirty minutes- what’s in the box?”

“Pffft, whaaat? What box, I don’t see a box?” Mai said, shoving the box into her wardrobe. “Yeah, uh, you should go to Luke’s place, like, right now.”

“Why..? Mai, what’s going on?” 

Mai shook out her hands, pushing Hana to the door. “N-nothing, I just need to, er-“ She searched around, trying to find something to help her out. “Ah!”

The redhead reached over, picking up a familiar crumpled notebook from the desk. “I need to copy Luke’s notes from yesterday!” She flipped through, then stopped on the most recent page with a grimace. “...or maybe not.”

“Anyway,” Mai punctuated herself by slamming the useless book shut. “You should go return this to him. And don’t keep him waiting!” With yet another final shove, Hana once again found herself out the door, the book in hand. 

She sighed deeply. Mai was so weird sometimes. 

 

As Hana walked down the smooth pavement to Bluebell House, a sudden realization hit her like a basketball in the face. She had no idea what Luke’s dorm number was! Sure, they’d been dating for at least a week, but it wasn’t like they confined themselves only to their rooms like reclusive teenage vampires. And honestly, Hana had no idea what to expect from his room at all. And how was she supposed to get the number? Would it be insensitive to call and ask him or-

“Hey, Hana!” 

Hana spun around at the sound of her name. Just a few feet away, Jeff and and a waving Jimmy were sitting on a bench, playing their 4DSs.

“C’mere, we’re just Nokèmon battling right now. I’m kicking Jeff’s ass!”

She walked over to behind the bench to witness the calamity happen. 

He really was kicking Jeff’s ass. 

Jimmy still had six Nokèmon, while Jeff had a measly two that were barely surviving. If Hana hadn’t known better, she would’ve assumed that Jimmy’s Moonala had one shot each of his opponents. 

Jeff growled. “C’mon, Jimmy, you’ve already killed my Sogalion, lay off!”

His opponent only smirked. “That’s what you get for challenging me!”

Seconds later, Jimmy was crowned the winner, his avatar posing flamboyantly on screen. He cheered with glee, victorious once more. 

Jeff groaned and shook the victor’s hand. “GG, man. So, Hana, what’re you doing out here?”

Hana blinked. What was she doing again..? Oh, right! “I was just heading over to Luke’s dorm. You wouldn’t happen to know what his dorm number is, would you?”

The two boys shared a look. 

Jimmy laughed nonchalantly, a scandalous smirk making its way onto his face. “Oh, yeah, it’s 275! Me and Wallid are right next door, so try not to make too much noise.” You could practically hear his furious winking. 

Jeff played along, nudging Jimmy’s arm. “Yeah, and I’m close by, so don’t hesitate to ask if you two need anything!” His eyebrows raised and lowered repeatedly, and an obscenely blushing Hana resisted the urge to reach over and shove his eyebrows down permanently. 

“Oh my God, stop it you guys! It’s not... like that!” She gestured with her hands, and the boys shared yet another look. 

“Suuure, whatever you say, Hana,” Jimmy cooed with a smug grin. 

Jeff stood up, Jimmy doing the same. “Jimmy and I were just gonna go back to his dorm, so you can follow us if you want.” 

Jimmy, being a compulsive multitasker, shrugged and chuckled the same time. “Or, y’know, don’t, if you really wanted to challenge yourself, but you do you!”

Hana just wanted a chill night with her boyfriend, not some crazy cliche teen anime romance shenanigans! Sheesh, what was up with these guys?! “N-no, it’s fine, I’ll follow you!”

“Okay,” Jeff waved a hand, signaling Hana to follow. “Then we’re off!”

 

Hana stood outside of Luke’s door, watching a waving Jimmy and Jeff slip into the room next door. There were still a few minutes until five... should she knock now or what? 

Ah, screw it, this scene was going on too long anyway. 

She knocked, and almost immediately she heard shuffling and a muffled but enthusiastic shout from inside.

Well, it made sense because in a matter of seconds Luke whipped open the door with a huge smile on his face. 

Hana was swept into a hug, Luke’s long arms encircling her back and lifting her up. “Hana! I missed you so much, I’m so glad you could make it!”

That was... shocking, to say the least. “Woah, hey, we just saw each other yesterday!” Gently, Luke placed her onto the floor beneath them, sheepishly stroking her arm. 

“Ah, sorry, I’m just excited for you to be here, that’s all.” He looked down at her hands, a familiar notebook in her grasp. “Oh, hey, my notes! Thanks for bringing them!” Hana handed the book to Luke as he stepped out of the way, and she took the opportunity to step into his room. 

She scooted to the side, letting Luke shut the door as she took off her shoes, taking in the sights. 

The small room seemed to be split into two, besides for the small coffee table and black couch near the front of the room. On the left, Ian sat at his desk, occupied with something on his laptop. He quickly waved to her, then went back to typing. Behind him was a twin sized bed fitted with a purple comforter, pillows fluffed and ready to be sunk into. Ian also had a brown bookshelf adorned with random ornaments and assorted items including a copy of Sweatpants Dan and an old rabbit ear TV, accompanied by an ancient-looking stack of Bisney Channel Original Movies.

The right side of the room was just as quirky as the left. Luke had a well-worn basketball resting comfortably next to his desk, a framed photograph of Hana and himself by his own laptop on the wooden surface. Luke’s bed, it seemed, was hastily made just recently, not much care put into how even the sides of the black top sheet were or anything. And, over the messy bed on a wall mounted shelf, there sat the entire Garry Hopper series in hardcover. 

In fact, there was a lot of Garry Hopper merch on her boyfriend’s side. 

“I didn’t know you were into Garry Hopper, Luke,” Hana took a seat on the edge of the couch, Luke doing the same. He took hold of her hand, nervously chuckling. 

“Oh, yeah, I love it! I’m in Driffongor, the best house!” He thumped his chest with pride, meeting Hana’s perplexed stare. Seeing this, his attitude changed in an instant, a worried frown making its way onto his face. “...do you think it’s weird?” 

Hana shook her head, leaning into his embrace. “No, no, it’s cute! I had no idea you liked it this much, that’s all.”

He perked up at her encouraging words. “Haha, thanks!” Luke clapped his hands, then exaggeratedly shook them around. “Anyway, what do y’all wanna do now?”

“Y’all..?”

Luke sighed, unamused. “My dear Hana, what am I gonna do with you?” He shook his head slowly, sarcastic disappointment in his eyes. “Y’all is, like, ‘you’ and ‘all’ shoved together for your convenience, capeesh?”

Damn this tall boy and his stupid, adorable, country mannerisms. 

“Right, Ian?” 

Ian was still furiously typing away, obviously not paying any attention to his roommate. He nodded and gave a small thumbs up, his eyes not leaving the screen. 

Luke huffed. “C’mon, Ian, your report on why fourth wall breakages in modern teenage romances are completely unnecessary but nevertheless enjoyable can wait, let’s do something!” 

Ian stared into the camera like he was on The Office. 

The edgy teen got up with a sigh. “Okay, you win, what are we gonna do?” Ian moved to the front of the room, his arms crossed. 

Luke shrugged. “I dunno,” He twisted in his seat, looking for something they could do to pass the time. “We still have like an hour and a half until you and Mai-“ 

Luke cut himself off immediately as he saw Ian’s raised eyebrows in front of him. It was like his eyebrows were screaming ‘don’t blow this for yourself, man,’ in Ian’s low, gravelly tone. 

“...I mean, uh- what I meant to say was that, uh,” Luke’s eyes comically widened as he unintentionally spun to meet Hana’s extremely confused expression. He frantically searched around some more, until-

Luke shot himself up, spooking Hana backwards, and he rushed to Ian’s side of the room, snatching up a box-looking-thing.

With an overly cheesy and painfully stressed grin, he panted out: “Bisney Channel Movie Night, anyone?”

Ian chuffed. “Sure. Is that cool with you, Hana?”

“...What? Oh, um, yes?” Hana quirked an eyebrow to both of the boys. This evening was oddly suspicious, almost as suspicious as selling a used game for more than two dollars at your local Game Senter, with an ‘S’. 

Something fishy was going on, she just couldn’t put her finger on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone notice the casual ian and friend reference near the end haha
> 
> if you've read this far, thank you so much! im really hoping that people actually like my garbage, and any and all feedback is appreciated :)
> 
> -a_literal_mess


	6. movie night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey howdy my dudes! gosh im really sorry it's been so long- ive been dragged down by school junk and family issues for the past month but im finally getting back to this story.
> 
> and look at me go again! another chapter is on the way and will definitely be the last one. (but who knows ive said that like seven times cough cough)

“Here, catch!” Luke chucked a fluffy black pillow from across the room to where Hana stood, smacking her in the face with a soft ‘thump’. 

It didn’t really catch her off guard, as this was the third time where this exact situation had happened. In the last five minutes.

Hana’s patience was on thin-fucking-ice right now. 

The pillow fell to her feet, and she stared blankly back at her stupid asshole of a boyfriend. 

...patience yields focus, Hana Mizuno.

It wasn’t until Luke had walked over from across the room, pillow in hand, and promptly whomped her in the face when she flipped her shit. 

“That’s it!” Reaching her arms upward and yanking the pillow from his hands, she barraged him with repetitive and aggressive retaliation whomps. 

Luke scrambled away, holding his arms up to form a makeshift shield for his face. “Hey, this is one-hundred percent uncalled for! I told you to catch!”

Hana whomped him one last time before glaring deeply into his soul, tossing the pillow to the couch. “Suuure, and the other two times were just an accident.”

“Exactly! Now you’re getting it!”

From somewhere in the room, a judgmental huff was emitted by none other than Ian.

Oh, yeah, he was here, too. 

“So are we actually gonna watch The One-Hundred-and-Fifty-Sixth Month, or are you two just gonna keep hitting on each other?” Ian didn’t even bother looking up to them as it was obvious that they were being idiots. He was fiddling with some wires near the TV, trying to get the rickety old VHS that had definitely seen better days to plug into the side. 

Luke nodded. “Yeah, hold up man, we’re just grabbing blankets and junk- you can’t have movie night without tons of pillows!”

Hana took a seat on the edge of the couch, pulling a pillow into her lap. “So what’s this movie about anyway..?”

Ian guffawed, still trying to jam a cord into the side. “If you could even call it a movie.”

Luke stood awkwardly at the side of the couch, putting a warm hand onto Hana’s shoulder. “So basically, this fish-kid, Goby, is like a champion runner, but it turns out that he’s actually a fish-person! And when he turns one hundred and fifty six months old, he starts hitting fish-person puberty really hard, like he can electrocute other fish and stuff. There’s also a resident hater who’s the dad of Goby’s one-hundred percent canonical love interest, Hess, and it’s a cheesy romantic subplot... with fish.”

That... was a lot to take in? 

Hana looked to Ian for clarification. He merely shrugged. “What he said. There’s not a lot that happens, to be honest.”

A few minutes later, after Ian begrudgingly accepted Luke’s generous offer to help, the movie started. 

Ian took a seat on the floor beside Hana’s dangling legs, and Luke-

Wait, what was he..?

The pink haired protagonist stared up at her boyfriend as he speedily took a seat super close to her, draping a plush comforter over the both of them, making a weird teenage-awkwardness-flavored burrito. 

. . .

He was really close. 

Hana did her best not to blush, trying extremely hard not to make eye contact with him or anyone, and she definitely did not have any indecent thoughts and totally didn’t take note of his apple cider scented cologne. 

...was it new? Had he always worn this one? It smelled really good, sure, but how had she not noticed it? And why was he moving his arm-

Oh. 

Ohhhh.

Luke slinked his arm around Hana’s waist, pulling her even closer. It wasn’t until he leaned his head down to rest on hers that she violently started to tremor. 

“Uh, Hana, you good?” Luke looked down worriedly at the cotton candy earthquake. 

“Y-yeah, just peachy,” Her voice wavered as she stuttered out a weak response.

It wasn’t entirely convincing, but whatever. Luke just mentally shrugged, going back to watching the movie and ignored Ian’s annoyed glares. 

Now, Ian wasn’t glaring because these two dumb shitheads were super shy and grossly adorable. 

It was just because these two dumb shitheads were super shy and grossly adorable. 

The moose just rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the screen, the title rolling by in a garish, yellow font. 

Goby Riffen was the most popular fish in fish middle school, and it just magically turns out he was abandoned by his fish-person mom as a baby and was abducted by two random fish parents. 

Y’know, just the typical Bisney Channel Original Movie plots. 

The film continued, and Luke stayed comfortably nestled with his girlfriend in his arms for the majority of the first act. 

That was, until, Goby’s one hundred and fifty sixth month celebration.

“Oh-ho-ho my hecking God, Hana, this is legit the funniest part!” Curiosity got the better of her, and Hana stopped gazing up at her heckling boyfriend to gawk at the screen. 

Goby’s fish dad, who suspiciously looked like fish Uncle Joey, was air-planing (or would it be boating?) an apparently disgusting piece of crab cake that his fish wife made into his fish mouth. 

Hana couldn’t decide whether the scene in front of her or Luke’s utter hysterics as he imitated fish Uncle Joey’s stupid face was more concerning. 

The movie continued on rather dully, Goby got more fish-person powers, met his fish-person mom after a montage of horrible flips, and ran away with fish-person mom, leaving his friends and family behind. 

“...is that it?” That was apparently it, as Luke and Ian just kind of nodded in agreement. 

“Told you it was a stupid way to kill time. Intelligent Mansion is a better movie.”

“Oh come on, man!” Luke shifted his view to his roommate, who was slumped on the floor surrounded by several mounds of pillows. “It wasn’t that bad, besides-“

Luke stood up, bringing Hana up with him. The both of them were still smothered in the heavy fabric, weighing Luke’s neck down so that his face was dangerously close to Hana’s. “Now we can do something else!” Being this close, she could clearly see he was excitedly and radiantly beaming- no man could be that pure in one given time, not even tall, sweet, adorable Luke Sizemore. What was up?

Ian chuckled, but it seemed strained, like he was forced to do so by request of a good friend deserving of a favor. “Like what, exactly?”

“I don’t know, grab a snack or something?  
The one ice cream place probably hasn’t closed yet.”

Hana couldn’t really explain why, maybe it was the wide eyes or exaggerated expressions and dialogue, but this whole exchange seemed... scripted. 

Ian nodded. “Sure. Coming, Hana?”

“Yeah! Ice cream is always good.” She started to shuffle to the door, fully expecting Luke to follow, but he remained glued to where he stood. 

“Oh, uh, are you... staying here? By yourself?” She emerged from the burrito, craning her neck so she could see her boyfriend’s face. 

Luke shook his head. “Yeah, I’m lactose intolerant, anyway- I can’t breathe in the milk fumes. I get crazy headaches and janked up stomach cramps,” Luke waved his hands around, emphasizing the craziness of the headaches and the jankiness of the stomach cramps. They must’ve really been bad if he was so emphatic about it. 

...or maybe it was so emphatic because he was antsy for her to leave? Did he want her gone already? What did she do?!

Hana was given no time to worry, however, as she was grabbed by the shoulder and shoved out the door by one of Ian’s famous shoulder shoves. 

“Bye, Luke, see you in, like, an hour, okay?” 

Luke nodded, not about to forget that he had like, an hour to get down to business. “See you guys later!” 

With a quick wave, a moose with a plan and the shoved-around ball of anxiety were out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, thanks for reading this far. 
> 
> i don't really know what else to say lmao
> 
> um okay chapter seven will definitely be the longest chapter in this story, estimating about ~2500 words so that's why this chapter is so short. 
> 
> so sorry for this short chapter but you have the end to look forward to! <3


	7. fairy lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOODNESS ITS FINALLY DONE. 3+ months of writing, drafting, and emotional breakdowns have led up to this date. 
> 
> yeah here’s the final chapter!! man this thing was way longer than expected, 4000+ words right here. sorry this took so long to post, but yknow you get more content instead of less :D
> 
> also i HIGHLY RECCOMEND listening to “yellow” by coldplay before reading this, you’ll see why ;)
> 
> anyway ilyall, enjoy~

Hana continued to be the shoved-around ball of anxiety all the way across campus, down to the little ice cream stand by the common area outside, and onto a rickety park bench, a sugary cone in hand.

Ian had payed for her single scoop strawberry cone, to her dismay, but he waved it off.

“Let me carry out my mandatory gay best friend duties for both you and that stupid asshat in a hat.”

“Oh, uh, okay?” Casual self awareness didn’t really make sense sometimes.

“So, Hana, lemme ask you something,” He nibbled on his chocolate sprinkle covered confection, then spoke once more. “What do you see in Luke? I’m just asking for reference.”

This was new. Ian wasn’t usually so forward with his questions, nor did he ask many at all.

...what _did_ she see in Luke that made her all so blushy and happy and shit?

“I’m not really sure, Ian,” Hana shook her head, not in disagreement, but in thought. “It all happened so quickly, one moment I was just asking him out to the Flower Festival, and next thing I know we’ve been dating for almost two weeks.”

Ian stared in indifference. “So you don’t know what you see in him?”

Oh, no, he was getting the wrong idea! “No, no, I do- or I think I do?” She sighed. “I just don’t know how to explain it.”

“That’s fine. No one ever has everything figured out. Just,” Ian paused momentarily, taking a breath to think of what to follow up with. “What do you feel when you’re around him?”

Hana shrugged. “I... don’t really know how to put it into words, but just being around him makes me feel like everything is going to be okay. No matter what situation we’re in, no matter what we’re doing or what life throws at us, somehow I just know we’ll be okay in the end. Because if all else fails, we have each other.”

Ian nodded knowingly, as if he knew she was going to say exactly that already.

“But I don’t know how to show it!” Hana huffed in frustration, putting the red and blue wrapper into her lap, her strawberry cone now fully consumed. She rested her chin in her hands, elbows on her knees. “I don’t know, Ian, I’m not very good at telling people how I feel or expressing my opinion or anything, but he’s just so perfect and he doesn’t even realize it. He’s funny, caring, selfless, understanding and honestly the best boyfriend I could’ve ever asked for. He brings out the fun spirit in me and I just... I think I’m in love with him.”

There were a few moments of silence, and in that silence Hana realized something she subconsciously knew all along.

She was in love with Luke.

Yes, she had always known that she liked him because he was cute and tall, but now it was like the pieces were finally all put together. Now, it was like she could look at Luke and realize that she was really in love with everything about him and they weren’t just a fleeting teenage romance that they’d both forget about later in life-

He truly was someone you could only dream of.

Hana stared blankly down at the wrapper in her lap, tracing the flowery pattern on the smudged ink. She looked over to Ian, waiting for some sort of reaction.

The reaction she was given was a classic Ian Dry Chuckle.

“I fucking told him, but he wouldn’t listen,” He was shaking his head, a hand pinching the bridge of his nose. Without a moment to lose, Ian got to his feet, dusting off his pants. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Go... where?”

He didn’t reply, but instead motioned for Hana to follow him. “Doesn’t matter, we just gotta get there quick. C’mon.”

She hesitantly stood from the bench, nearly missing the can as she tossed the crumpled paper several feet away. Ian was already on the move, wasting no time at all.

Oh, come on, why was everyone just agreeing on explaining as little as possible with literally everything today?

Hana had to jog to catch up (damn these tall people and their spaghetti legs), and as soon as she did, she realized that they were, in fact, not heading back to Bluebell like she anticipated, but were instead taking a left to Primrose.

“Hey, um, do you think you could explain what’s going on, Ian?”

“What do you mean? We’re going to your dorm now,” He glanced over at her, apparently utterly perplexed as to why she would ever deign to question him.

And, to his immense surprise, she stopped in her tracks and scowled.

Holy shit.

“Ian, when Luke invited me to hang out, I was so excited just to relax and let all of my stress melt away in a cuddly blanket pile for hours. But noooo, I have to go on a wild goose chase around campus with no answers whatsoever and I just have to accept that?”

She threw her arms in the air, took a deep breath and continued. “No! I’m a person, too, not just an item people can push around and manipulate for fun! So why is it that I have to go through this when literally everyone else knows what the hell is happening?”

For the first time in his life, Ian, the snarky, sarcastic, cynic with an extensive collection of comebacks and quips, had no clue what to say. His mind blanked, and he stood in a stupor, watching his friend as she panted in her own little pink fury.

He shook his head, reaching his arm out to place a hand on her shoulder. “Look, Hana, you’re right. You aren’t an item, you’re one of my best friends, but trust me, everything is gonna make sense in a bit. Just follow me. Please.”

It took a moment, but after an exaggerated period of thought, she gave up with a sigh.

After a curt nod, Ian continued to walk.

The journey would be worth it in the end.

 

Without a knock, Ian pulled open the door to Hana’s room, Mai already inside, fiddling with various items on the vanity.

She whipped around with a yelp to face the intruder, a hair brush held up in defense, but immediately relaxed as she saw it wasn’t a demented hobo (or a demonic robot bird) coming to kill her.

“Is it time?”

“Yep. See you later, Hana,” With a small wave, Ian closed the door behind him, leaving the two lovely ladies alone in the baby pink room.

“Will you be the one to care enough to explain what’s going on, Mai?” Hana questioned Mai, watching her roommate cross the room to grab something from her wardrobe.

“Can’t, girl, but it’ll all make sense soon enough,” Mai said, shoving a familiar white box in Hana’s direction. “Also, you might want to put this on.”

“Oh boy. A present,” Hana monotonously muttered out, untying the red, velvety ribbon as she did so. Mai stood to the side, practically bouncing in excitement as she watched her roommate do such a simple and boring task. “Yes, let’s just give Hana stuff so she won’t ask any-“

Hana stopped her monologue so suddenly it gave her and everyone in a two mile radius whiplash.

Inside was the most breathtaking article of clothing Hana had ever seen in her entire life.

A dress. It wasn’t a simple dress that Hana was used to, like the ones she would wear out on a picnic with her father, either, but it was a gorgeous, flowing, light pink dress splashed with blooming red roses. It was elegantly smooth to the touch, and Hana didn’t even have to examine it much longer to know that it costed more than her entire life.

“Mai... how did you- when did you even have time- why would you- what... is this?”

To Hana’s side, Mai squealed with delight. “I knew you’d like it! That’s why I was in such a rush today- my mom’s friend owns a boutique not too far from here, and I called in yesterday yapping about a ‘Best Friend Boy Crisis’ and she slapped everything away just to put this together in a pinch!”

Mai reached over for the box to pull the dress out, but Hana hesitated, shaking her head. “Mai, I can’t accept this, it’s way too much! I-I mean, I don’t even have an idea of what I’m supposed to-“

“Oh, shush up, Hana!” Mai growled, promptly yanking the box from her stubborn roommate’s hands. “You do deserve this because you are an amazing, awesome, and perfect person! Plus, you’re my best friend- I gotta look out for you, y’know? Best Friend Code.”

“What am I even supposed to wear this to?”

Mai cackled. “Girl, you are so dense sometimes.” She wrapped her arm around Hana’s back, putting her other hand in the air. “Five words: Teenage. Anime. Romance. Date. Night. Specifically in that order, too.”

“...Huh?”

The redhead clapped, giving no further elaboration. “Sorry, babe, no time. Gotta get your beautimous on!”

 

Mai helped Hana ‘get her beautimous on’, or whatever was synonymous to that action, perfectly layering the dress, freshening her makeup, and lightly styling her hair. When she was finally all finished and thoroughly satisfied, Mai stepped back, surveying her masterpiece.

She cheered, pumping a fist into the air. “Oh, man, is Luke gonna be freaking floored when he sees you! You’re absolutely precious!” Mai jokingly pinched Hana’s blushed cheeks, and the tormented swatted away the tormenter.

“Okay, okay, thank you, Mai. No, really, I couldn’t have even dreamed of anything like this with out you,” Hana pulled her best friend into a hug, careful not to trigger the sensitive waterworks and ruin her vulnerable mascara.

“Aww, Hana, it’s not a problem at all! Just be the maid of honor when I finally capture Jared’s heart!”

Hana pulled back seconds later, giving Mai a smile. “Well, I should be going now,” It was almost eight-thirty by now, the sun outside hidden under the horizon. “Wish me luck!”

Mai pushed her to the door, a supportive grin adorned on her face. “Go see how much he loves you!”

And with that tone of finality, she closed the door on Hana’s face.

 

As Hana ambled down the leaf strewn path heading to Bluebell, a wave of deja vu hit her like a freight train.

This time, only about a week ago, Luke had just asked her out and now he had some sort of surprise for her?

Hana chuckled, making her way to the oaken stairs.

Time really did fly.

She turned the corner on the second floor, scanning the door numbers to find the one she was searching for.

270... 271... 272...

Door 275.

Hana raised her hand to knock, but she stopped just before her knuckles hit the wood. Strangely enough, the door was ajar, just barely enough to be noticeable, a thin sliver of dim light shining through the crack.

She hummed. Luke must’ve already been in there, he didn’t seem like the type of person to forget to close the door on his way out.

But then again, it was Luke. You didn’t really know what to expect from him in the first place.

Hesitantly, Hana raised a hand in the air, ready to push it open.

Whatever awaited her behind this door, she was prepared for it.

She pushed.

. . .

 

Hana was definitely not prepared for what she was seeing.

 

For one, Luke was no where to be found, and the furniture the front of the room had mysteriously vanished, leaving an empty carpet.

That caught the least of her attention.

What did catch the other ninety-seven percent of her attention was what was surrounding her, all across the ceiling and walls, twisting and turning every which way like flowered vines.

Fairy lights.

Off-white, flickering strings of fairy lights, supplying the otherwise pitch black room with dim, aesthetically pleasing ambient light.

“...This isn’t real, Hana, this is straight out of a scene in some romantic, French film,” Hana stepped around cautiously, afraid that any sudden, abrupt movement would ruin this dreamlike occasion. “Dear God, pinch yourself, Hana, you’re dreaming!”

She did.

This wasn’t a dream.

From behind her, Hana heard soft footsteps approach the door. Shocked out of her mind, Hana whirled around to face the faceless noise.

Luke.

He stood in the doorway, a hand on its frame, and Hana noticed there was something different about him. It wasn’t the navy blue suit he was wearing or the tie that suspiciously matched the pattern on her dress, nor was it his lack of hat, or the fact that he was flushed a deep cherry red down to his neck.

It just must’ve been the atmosphere, but for once in his life, he seemed shy. Pensive.

 

Awestruck.

 

“Hey.”

He walked towards her, and Hana mustered enough courage to speak. Or, more accurately, exhale with some words thrown in. “Luke... what is all of this?”

“Surprise!” Luke took both of her hands on his, gazing down at her. He was smiling brighter than Hana had ever seen someone smile before. “Do you like it?”

Hana fished for some words to say, but to her horror she couldn’t find any. His face darkened, shoulders slumping. “Sorry, this probably really stupid, I can just-“

“Shh!” Hana pressed a finger to his lips, and his eyes widened. “This is _beautiful_.”

Luke flushed bright red again in an instant. “I-I, um,” He chuckled nervously, aware that right now, he was no longer Mr. Smooth. “...Yeah. So, um, do you want to... dance?”

“Dance?”

Luke beamed. “Yeah! I put together a playlist just for this!” He pulled out his phone, opening up WeTube. The music started playing and a smooth, wordless hip-hop beat was heard, one you’d listen to after a rough day.

His phone on the desk nearby, Luke wrapped his arms gently around her waist, worried about doing the wrong thing in the moment. Turns out he wasn’t, as she followed suit and placed her hands on his shoulders. He smiled down at her.

“You’re so pretty, you know that?”

Hana blushed a pink shade, turning her head away in embarrassment. “Stop it, you,” Luke laughed at her, his shoulders raising.

“I’m just tellin’ the truth, plain and simple.”

“Sure, whatever. But wait... how’d you get the couch and table out of here? I was only gone for an hour.”

Luke shrugged, not wanting to elaborate much. “Never underestimate the power of Hidden Block.”

She didn’t try to argue.

The couple continued to dance together, swaying softly back and forth in each other’s embrace. Hana’s face was nuzzled in the fabric of Luke’s suit, his chin resting on the top of her head. They exchanged little conversation, trading corny jokes occasionally and tucking in little, shy compliments whenever humanly possible.

This was... spectacular.

Could it get any better than this?

The current song faded away, allowing the next song to take its place.

And the gentle lull of a guitar told Hana that, yes, it could get better than this.

Luke lifted his head, moving back a bit but staying in relatively the same position to look below at Hana’s curious face.

A few agonizingly slow seconds went by, Luke’s eyes closed in this time, and when he opened his mouth a moment later Hana knew exactly what was happening.

He was singing.

 _“Look at the stars, look how they shine for you,_  
_And everything you do,_  
_Yeah, they were all yellow.”_

He reopened his eyes and Hana could tell that this boy was special, that she should never let him go.

 _“I came along, I wrote a song for you,_  
_And all the things you do,_  
_And it was called ‘Yellow’.”_

This emotion, Hana had never seen anyone pour so much of themselves into a single action.

 _"So then I took my turn,_  
_Oh, what a thing to’ve done,_  
_And it was all yellow.”_

No teenage boy should’ve legally been able to do this because, _God_ , this voice was killer.

 _“Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones_  
_Turn into something beautiful,_  
_Do you know,_  
_You know I love you so?”_

Hana’s eyes widened comically at this ‘confession’, deep down she always knew it was there, but now here it was out in the open. Luke leaned in so close so that their foreheads were touching, and he spoke the next lyric, barely above a whisper.

“You know I love you so.”

Hana buried her face into his chest in shyness during the short instrumental break, and Luke abandoned all formalities and pulled Hana into a weird hug for the remainder of the song.

He sang along with the same emotion that he had for the first verse, letting go and just embracing the music.

Hana now knew that it was silly how hard it was to put into words how Luke made her feel, because in this singular moment in time she only needed one word to describe how she felt.

Loved.

In the last few moments of the song, Luke released Hana, taking a step back and cupping her cheek in his palm.

The final notes died out, and with a deep breath he spoke.

“Hana Mizuno, I-“

_Click._

“Hey, man, I just wanted to say-“ The words cut short, and Luke and Hana spun around to face the source of the interruption.

There stood a scared looking PBG who had barged in uninvited through the doorway.

An awkward tension filled the air, the only sounds heard were crackling through Luke’s speaker.

All three of them were caught as deer in the headlights.

With a disappointed sigh, Luke dropped his hands to his sides. “I’ll be right back, Hana, I’m gonna... go to the bathroom for a minute.”

He quickened his pace as he slinked out the door and past PBG, who was staring blankly to the floor.

After a moment of thought, PBG cleared his throat and shuffled closer to Hana.

“Hana, I’m... sorry. For making you guys uncomfortable.” His apology surprised Hana to a degree; she’d never expect this from him in a million years. “It’s not really your fault, I just guessed you’d have...” PBG stopped mid sentence, not sure how to finish the statement.

“I’d what?”

PBG shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I got jealous that you guys were the perfect couple or something. Yeah, that’s it.”

The pink haired girl nodded. She wanted more clarification, that was definitely not enough of an explanation, but she didn’t think he really wanted to elaborate much further.

She was wrong, though, and PBG continued. “Look, I just want you to know that I support you one-hundred percent, and I’m happy that you’re happy.”

He stared into space for a prolonged minute. Hana wanted to fill the silence, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. It seemed... wrong to, in a sense.

PBG gave her a sad smile. And, with a defeated chuckle, he spoke the last words he’d say to Hana for a long time.

“You deserve him.”

And just like that, PBG spun on his heel and turned down the hall.

Hana had to sit on Luke’s bed, as there was still a noticeable lack of couch, and process all of what happened in the span of the last five minutes.

One. PBG busted through the door on an apparent mission.

Two. Luke had fled the situation and was still currently gone.

Three. PBG apologized to her with a bare minimum amount of sense thrown in.

And that brought her to the now. Alone in Luke’s room surrounded by these lights and in this dress.

Maybe it was just the atmosphere, or the lack of Luke, or the fact that PBG had basically just ruined everything to an extent, but now this all felt so suffocating. Forced.

 

Fake.

 

Was any of this real? 

“Hey, sorry, I’m back!” Luke jogged through the still open door, closing it behind him, a smile on his face.

Something was off.

“Are you... okay?” This caught Luke off guard, and he took a step back as she took a step forward.

He hesitated for a moment, worry clear in his eyes, but he quickly shoved any exhibition of this deep down.

Or, at least, he thought he did.

“What..? Oh, yeah, I’m chill- don’t worry about me!” He ignored Hana’s concerned expression, instead opting to walk past her and reach out for his phone. “Let’s just listen to the rest of-“

“Luke, seriously, you don’t seem okay.” His hand stopped mid air, hovering mere inches above the black case. “I’m not stupid, I know when something is bothering you, and I just want to-“

“Hana, please,” Luke craned his neck back to meet her eyes. He seemed more than a little annoyed now, not wanting to spoil the rest of the night. “I’m _fine_ , okay?”

The last words came out as a snap. Something was definitely wrong if Luke, the tall, soft, absolute ray of sunshine _snapped_ in annoyance.

He must’ve been really hurt if he was driven to do that to the one he loved the most.

Luke scrolled through WeTube, only partially aware of Hana’s hand on his shoulder.

He kept scrolling. “Hey, I want to help you out, Luke.”

He kept scrolling. “You’re my boyfriend, and I care about you. A lot. And I just...”

He kept scrolling. “...Luke, will you put that _down_ \- I just want to be there for you!”

His thumb stalled. “And I can’t do that if- you aren’t giving me _anything_ -“

“I am giving, Hana! Can’t you see?!” Luke threw his hands in the air, the phone flung to the table. “I’m trying- trying to keep my guard up, trying to show how much I care, and I am sure as hell trying to pretend that I’m fine!”

“I put this whole shebang together to show how much I love you, and on paper, it should’ve worked! But, ha! I should’ve known that it would’ve been useless to even try- all because of this one. Little. Fact.”

He removed himself from Hana’s hold, stalking over to the center of the room. Luke spun back around to face her, and Hana saw the most broken look that should’ve never have been on that face.

“PBG likes you, okay? It’s pretty freaking obvious, and I’m trying to not let it get to me, but it doesn’t help that he basically hates my guts only because I’m your boyfriend!” His hand moved to clutch his hair in distress. “And... I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I just have one question for you-“

He paused, taking a short breath that was barely enough to suffice.

“What do you see in me?”

“I... what?”

“Hana, I just... I’m afraid,” Luke’s voice wavered unnaturally, his collected attitude defenestrated, and Hana could do nothing but stare. “I’m always afraid. I’m afraid of what people think of me, I’m afraid that I’ll only just ever be this mess of a person- I constantly _try,_ but nothing I do ever works the way I want it to, I can’t even do freaking history notes right-“

Luke could tell that Hana was at a loss for words, and he didn’t blame her. He was spewing emotional bullshit- she never signed up for this. He may as well vent some more- he was this deep, after all.

“A-and I just- I don’t think I’m worth anything- I’m obnoxious, I talk too much, I’m nothing but a waste of space.”

Luke sighed in defeat, avoiding eye contact. With a look that could give an entire advanced and civilized colony depression, he closed his ramble.

“I don’t deserve you.”

...This was too much to process.

Luke...

Did he really feel this way?

Hana shook her head. That wasn’t important right now.

Instead, she threw herself at him, pulling him into a warm hug. Luke returned it instinctively, pressing his face into her hair.

He must’ve been so cold.

Hana wanted to speak, to get everything out in the open, to prove how much she loved him, to make sure that he was okay.

And she did.

Hana sat Luke next to her on his bed, and awkwardly maneuvered herself so that she could make eye contact with him and hold his hands at the same time. A stray strand of hair fell in front of Luke’s eyes, and Hana put it back in its place. Hana gathered her thoughts and spoke.

“Luke, when I first met you, I immediately knew that you were something else. I remember how nervous I was introducing myself in front of everyone on the first day of class, and I remember as clear as day making eye contact with a boy in the back of the room, just barely for an instant. Little did I know, this guy was going to end up my boyfriend. Luke Sizemore, the six-foot-something, suave, handsome rapper with a great smile.”

“But you’re so much more than that. You’re a talented musical genius with an admirable passion for everything you do. You inspire me to try my best in every situation I find myself in, because I know that’s what you would do.”

“You care so much, even if you don’t necessarily get anything in return for it. It’s incredibly thought provoking, as my experiences have told me that most people would never go out of their way to make people feel loved or welcome.”

“And it hurts to see you hurt, because you’re the one person who shouldn’t be. You deserve to feel happy. You deserve to be loved. And do you know why?”

Luke let himself relax, shaking his head sheepishly.

“It’s because you’re you. You’re incredible. And you have me. You will _always_ have me,” A sudden sob shook Luke, and Hana pensively brushed a tear from his cheek. Her voice cracked as she continued. “I’m always going to be there if you feel lost. I’m only one text away if you ever need someone to lean on. I’m never going to let you fall. I’m going to do everything in my power to make the reflection in the mirror someone you wake up happy to see. Because you deserve that. You always have, and you always will. I love you.”

Hana pulled a crying Luke into her arms, his face nestled in the crook of her neck. She kissed his forehead gently, tenderly stroking his back for as long as he allowed it. Hana didn’t mind that he was leaning heavily onto her shoulder or that he was infusing the strap of her dress with tears, promising a stain.

He needed this.

It felt like hours before he pulled back slightly, leaning back just enough so that their eyes met. Luke didn’t speak, his expression screaming a million words- the upturned eyebrows, the soft look in his eyes, the small tug of a smile- all serenading until he tilted his head, leaning back in.

 

And then he was kissing her.

 

God, this was really happening.

Hana didn’t know what to do, she just tried to copy what he was doing- he must’ve had more experience than her, surely?

This was all so sudden, but it felt so... right. The chapstick smoothness of his lips, the closeness of his face, the awkward clack of his nose against hers.

 _This_ was perfection.

And just like that, it was over. Luke pulled back, resting his forehead on Hana’s, gazing lovingly into her eyes. Hana wiped lingering tears from his face, only to be replaced with new ones. Hell, Hana was close to crying herself. This was _way_ too much emotion for one day.

Luke cupped Hana’s cheek with his palm. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long, movies always make it look so romantic.”

“Was it... okay?”

He beamed. “You’re perfect.”

That wasn’t what Hana was expecting for an answer, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcome.

Her shocked face must’ve struck something in Luke, because his reply was more than just a bit hasty.

“Well, duh, you’re perfect- you’re dating the coolest guy in school after all,” He winked, and Hana shoved him back in defiance.

“Oh, come on, it’s just a prank!” Luke reached for her arm to hold, but she swatted his hand away.

“You can’t pull that ‘it’s just a prank’ crap on me, Luke!” He guffawed as Hana’s voice dropped down to imitate the iconic, smooth tone of her boyfriend.

“I do mean it though!” The mood changed in an instant, and Hana calmed herself down to stare into his blue eyes once more.

“You’re perfect.”

She didn’t know how, but tears hit her eyes like a sledgehammer, threatening to fall. “Oh my God, stop it Luke! You’re going to make me cry!”

“Too bad, I’m already crying,” Luke pulled his wheezing girlfriend into his arms, comforting her. “Join the club.”

The tears subsided after a long silence, leaving the two lovestruck dorks in each other’s arms. It was really late now, this rollercoaster of a night had left them both exhausted, and Hana swear she heard Luke try to stifle a yawn into his sleeve.

“I really do mean it, you know,” Luke hummed, pulling back from Hana. A gentle smile placed itself on his face, his eyes a soft glow.

“Mean what?”

“All of this. Even though it kinda janked. You’re absolutely perfect, and don’t forget it. It sounds cheesy, but you mean so much to me- more than I can explain. You make me feel like I’m important, like everything I try to do isn’t in vain. Like I’m not completely a hopeless mess. Thank you.”

Luke tilted back in, unabashed as he pressed a long kiss to Hana’s lips, leaving her breathless as he pulled away. Stars glittered in her eyes, accompanying the dazzling shine of a million fairy lights.

“I love you so much more than I can put into words, Hana Mizuno.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, this story was so much fun to write. i don't know what's next, im still in this asagao funk. maybe ill write more for this dead fandom, who knows. 
> 
> thank you for reading this far, y’all are awesome. have a great night/day/whatever time it is.
> 
> -a_literal_mess


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